Adam Lind had a great first half but maybe a question mark in the second half of 2012

Adam Lind was off the charts with his numbers (.329 batting average, 11 homers, 12 doubles, 33 RBIs in 67 games) in his first half and was a well rounded player and cleanup hitter and played some solid first baseman. Then in the 81St game of the regular season which is the half way point of the 2012 regular season for the Blue Jays he had to pull himself out of the lineup to start the bottom of the third for Josh Thole with a stiff back which is nagging injury and will be day-to-day but it will be an on going injury will likely be in and out of the lineup from day-to-day. The Jays diffidently missed him as they battled back from a Red Sox three-run second inning by getting a Jose Bautista solo jack with one out in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 4 and Josh Thole had a ground ball off the bat of Shane Victorino with runners on first and second with one out and he booted it and winning run scored from second instead of it being the second out to take it 5-4 and 3 of 4 from the Jays. It could of been a two-run go ahead homer as the Red Sox's Shane Victorino made a diving catch off the bat of Jose Reyes to open the ninth inning and it would of been time for Casey Janssen to shut it down and instead Juan Perez came in from the pen and gave up an one out singled and followed it up with a walk and ended up being the losing pitcher. Mark Buehrle after given up 3 runs on four hits in the second inning and after he hit Jacoby Ellsbury with one out in the inning he set down 8 straight Sox hitters and he battled through 6 innings and only gave up a run on 3 hits over his last 3.2 inning pitched and he showed that he can stay focused and when things go bad unlike Wong and Johnson were unable to regain their stuff when it went bad in the first two games of the Sox series. Jose Bautista is heating up going into the second half as he has had 5 hits including three homers and has reached base 5 times in the last two games and will need to pick up the slack with absence of Adam Lind as he may not be an everyday player like he was in the first half except for his injury in the first half. R.A. Dickey will need to put his best foot forward tomorrow against the high powered Detroit Tigers in front of a sod out crowd at the Rogers Centre which is not the 50 plus thousand that it was in the beginning of the Rogers Centre (late 80's and early 90's) but it will be a loud crowd and the environment will be awesome. Great 18-9 June but they needed a better road trip falling 5 of the 7 games against the Rays and the Sox Tom Mehegan 7.Shane Victorino

Esmil Rogers does everything that the Jays need him to do and more

Esmil Rogers who has come out of the bullpen like Luis Perez and Carlos Villanueva in spades for the Jays when they need it the most with starters Josh Johnson and J.A. Happ along Brandon Morrow not able to make some of their starts this season Rogers has been put into the fire. For a guy that they got for John Farrell (Mike Avila) and Yan Gomez (the first Brazilian major league baseball player) it has turned out to be a great deal and has taken some of the bitter taste of Mike Avila being another player that did not want to play in Canada. So in 6 starts he has gotten stronger especially over his first 4 starts going from a three-hitter over 3.1 innings against Atlanta to a 1 run on 3 hit effort against Texas and then faced Texas again and out dueled Yu Darvish with a 7 inning victory with a run on 5 hit performance which was followed by a 2 runs on 4 performance against the Rockies over 6.1 innings. He then like most other Jays died in the dead stadium that the Rays play in St. Pete's and gave up back-to-back-to-back homers to the Rays in the second and pulled through it pitching another 4 innings and left given up the three runs on 7 hits. So today going into Fenway after Wong and Johnson just could not handle the heat with Wong given up 7 in 1.1 innings and Josh Johnson going 3.1 and gave up 5 and not able to help the Jays bullpen it was up to Rogers to create the relief the bullpen needed with a 6 hit shutout over 6 innings and behind the great d help he got behind him with amazing head first dive by Colby Rasmus in the fifth stealing a hit along with a RBI from the Red Sox's Jonathan Diaz with one out and a runner on second the Jays carried a very tiny 2-0 lead into the Seventh. Jose Bautista did everything for the Jays he throw out Shane Victorino in the sixth for the first out of the sixth as J.P. Arencibia blocked the plate and tagged him out and with runners on the corners Rogers struck out Mike Napoli and Daniel Nava back-to-back to end his day at 100 pitches. Offensively Bautista reached base four times as he walked and stole second and on a Edwin Encarnacion single was out at third but not before he got in a run down to make sure Edwin was at second which setup an Adam Lind RBI single to make it 1-0 Jays. In the sixth Bautista doubles the lead by playing with the cars in the parking lot a he launched a 2-0 fastball to left field and right out of Fenway to make it 2-0 Jays. Then the Jays stellar bullpen starting with Darren Oliver came in and the soxs took a real liken to him as Jarrod Saltalamacchia crushed the first pitch he saw to the wall and Rajai Davis played it perfectly and was only a single and Jose Iglesias on the next pitch got a bunt single to Maicer Izturis who throw the ball away so Saltalamacchia got to third. A couple of pitches later Jonathan Diaz bunted a ball back to Oliver who throw homw and J.P. blocked the plate for the first out of the inning as he got run over by Saltalamacchia but held onto the ball to keep it 2-0. Then Steve Delabar came in throwing heat but Jacoby Ellsbury singled to load the bases and Shane Victorino singled home two to tie the game and then Delabar got Dustin Pedroia to fly out dto Bautista and David Ortiz got k'd to end the inning. Bautista was not done as he smoked a ball on top of the monster in the eighth for a two-run shot off Junichi Tazawa to make it 4-2 and in the ninth J.P. Arencibia got some justice as finally got a hit as he eat up Mike Napoli behind first base and went to second when Napoli misses the ball and it went down the first baseline and Jose drove him home as he scratched a ball through third baseman Jonathan Diaz which should of been his fourth rib of the day but it was called an error and he caught at third trying to stretch it to third and the Jays win 6-2. Mike Napoli had a very tough day at the office he got k'd four times as the Jays worked most pitches inside and then go away for the k but he does have 5 homers and 13 rbis in 10 games so the error not feel as bad but probably does. Delabar pick up the win going 1.2 innings and 4ks as k'd the Sox's 1-2-3 in the eighth and now Buehrle will be looking for the split in Beantown Tom mehgan

Munenori Kawasaki heading to Buffalo to make room fot Reyes

Munenori Kawasaki ys the odd man out is off the Jays 25-man roster to make room for Jose Reyes who is coming off the DL in time for the finale in St. Petes against the Tampa Bay Rays as the Jays have to lick their wounds and it will be an extremely quick turnaround with first pitch just after high noon. It is great to have Jose Reyes back at shortstop and has played 10 games this season and after walking in the season opener he in the next 9 games he collected at least a hit in each game so he has safely reached base on all the game he has played in. He has been diffidently missed in the last 65 games and will better the team at the plate and in the field. The only thing that surprised me is that Munenori Kawasaki is the odd man as I am not sure if Jose Reyes will be able to play every inning and Munenori Kawasaki will be missed in the clubhouse as livened up the clubhouse and kept everyone at ease and help to lift the Jays to the 11 game win streak and putting together a 15-4 June going into the last two games and are still 15-6 this month of June. After a rocky start he settled down and became a Toronto icon with great sound bites and put a great show on the field with his deep knee bends and then he would of helped fill in late in games just like Rajai Davis replaces Melky late in games. In the end Munenori Kawasaki would of been the 25 man on the roster and it really does not matter who is that last guy but I feel that he should still be on the roster and have a guy like Dustin McGowan being sent down to Buffalo or Mark DeRosa beimg put on wavier and him bring picked up by one of the other 29 teams unlike McGowan who would clear waivers still be in the organization and the bullpen goes from 8 to 7 pitchers. If DeRosa leaves then Edwin Encarnacion would be the back-up third baseman when Maicer Izturis need a blow and would fill the bill until Brett Lawrie is 100% and is back on the roster and that should of been the time that Kawasaki should of been sent down to Buffalo. The Jays need to pick themselves up off the mat again Tom Mehegan

Jays roll to 11 straight as Johnson pick up first as Jay

Josh Johnson has finally picked up his first victory as a Jay as the Jays rolled the O's 13-5 as Edwin Encarnacion put together a three-hit afternoon including a two-run homer and a two-run double respectively in the second and third inning as the had it cruisin' mood after three innings up 9-0. So Johnson look comfortable through 5 as he gave up only 3 hits and no runs and with the Jays up big he gave up back-to-back doubles to Manny Machado and Nick Markakis respectively and Markakis scored on a fielding error by Emilio Bonifacio on a ball hit by Chris Davis. He came back out in the seventh and faced two batters and second one was Ryan Flaherty who hit his first of two homers in the game a two-run shot that had Josh Johnson leaving given up 4 runs on 7 hits with 5 ks and a walk that will hopefully a jump off point for him. In seventh the Jays put together three straight hits to open the inning started by Colby Rasmus who hit solo shot to make it 10-4 and then J.P. collected his third hit in the game and reached base four times in the game as he opened the scoring by being hit by a pitch with bases juiced in the first. He was moved to third by a double by hot hitting Maicer Izturis who had two hits in the game but with no outs they stood their ground as Bonifacio and Kawasaki both grounded out and that is when things got interesting as the pitcher that gave up Rajai Davis game winning hit on Friday Pedro Strop came in to face Rajai and on a 1-2 pitch got him square in the back to load the bases and Rajai throw his hands up to the Jays dugout in like what gives. Then Jose Bautista unloaded the bases with a three run double and make it 13-4 which was almost matched by massive two-run shot by Edwin who just hit it foul. Ryan Flaherty hit a no doughtier off Dustin McGowan who came into pitch the ninth and is one of the guys leaving to make room for Reyes tomorrow but Kawasaki even though he was the only Jay to not reach base also does not look like the guy being taken of this team either. The Jays have gotten 45 thousand or more in 8 games this season and have swept a home stand of 6 or more for the first time in 5 years and have tied the longest winning streak in franchise at 11 that has been done twice before. REYES and the Jays head to St. Pete's to face the Tampa Bay Rays which is not the happiest play in the world for the Jays Tom Mehegan

Darren Oliver may have thrown his last pitch but also may have left a winner

Darren Oliver came into the eighth inning of a 2-1 Jays lead with a nine game winning streak on the line and Casey Janssen warming behind him and with one out he gave up a solo shot to the ninth batter in the O's lineup catcher Taylor Teagarden and then gave up a single to leadoff hitter Nate McLouth who he then picked off as he throw at the right as he off and running to second and was tagged out by Munenori Kawasaki. So with two outs Oliver k'd Manny Machado to end the inning and maybe his 20 year career as the Jays have a decision to make on Monday so they can open a spot on the team for returning shortstop Jose Reyes which could spell the end for Darren Oliver and if that does happen Jose Bautista made sure that he left a winner as the guy who was 0 for 7 coming into the bottom of the eighth in the series and 4 for 37 in the 9 game winning streak crushed a 3-2 pitch with two outs for a two-run homer to make it 10 in a row as Casey Janssen still was able to close up his 17 save on the season on only 13 pitches and 22 total on back-to-back saves. So the reason that I believe that Darren Oliver is ready to retire is No.1 he has pitched in 11 games in just under two month after pitching in 9 games in the first three and a half weeks of the season. No.2 is that he did himmed and haud about coming back for the 20Th season and did it only because the Jays waived 4 mil in his face and it still was not a guarantee that he has coming back. To say he is the only one to be here against his will is not true at all as Josh Johnson has made it very clear that his wife did not want him here and through his agent publicly hinted that he wants to a Yank and has let everything get to him with everything on the line meaning his retirement contract that will fall way short of the 150 and 160 range it was looking like before the season started as he is still looking for his first win of the season tomorrow as the Jays look towards 11 straight coming off a 7.1 5 hitter against the Rockies on Monday. Lets not forget that R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle did not come to the big smoke prepared but they are fighters and are fighting to get back what they know a.k.a. eating inning and putting their teams in positions to win the 'the ballgame' as Jerry says and Darren and Josh do not look like they have that fight. It is not a given that Darren retires so the other bullpen option would be a sad one as Dustin McGowan would be designed for assignment and put on waivers and this would happen because he would most likely clear wavier and go back to Buffalo as it is unlikely any other team in the majors would a 25-man roster spot for him. If the Jays to keep the 4 right/4 lefty bullpen and exchange a bat for a bat then it would be decision of either keeping Mark DeRosa or Munenori Kawasaki who did crush a ball second deck but a couple of seats foul from having homers in back-to-back games after none in his first 116 games. If Munenori Kawasaki is not the 25 man I would be stunned because he would be that perfect 25 man keeping the clubhouse light and being the glue that keeps everything going in the right direction much more than that epic fail of a clubhouse meeting hosted by DeRosa at the end of April. Jose has chosen his spots well as he is 6 for 40 (150) in the 10 game win strak as he started it in Chicago with a last strike opportunity down one and tied it up with a homer and hopefully just continued it with his two out two-run homer to give the Jays a 4-2 victory. It will all not really matter as the 25 man is not a big deal

Munenori Kawasaki first ever major league homer leads Jays to 9 straight

Munenori Kawasaki who is trying to out last either Mark DeRosa or Maicer Izturis as the 25 man on the Jays major league roster when the Jays leadoff hitter Jose Reyes makes his way up from Buffalo in his 117 major league game in his 247 at bat hit his first ever homer a two-run bomb with two outs in the seventh inning to tie the game @ 6. Kawasaki homer saved R.A. Dickey bacon as he rockin' and rolling through the O's as he gave up a J.J. Hardy solo blast on two hits and a hit batter and on a two-run blast in first and a Kawasaki RBI single in the fifth and the Jays took a 3-1 lead after five. In the sixth he let up and gave up a 4 spot as he gave up a Adam Jones RBI single with two on and Chris came up and launched three-run blast which was his 27th homer and the O's took a 5-3 lead and then Edwin launched a solo shot in the sixth and in the seventh Dickey gave it back by given up lead-off homer by Ryan Flaherty and walked Danny Valencia and then he was pulled for Brett Cecil who faced five batters and retired all of them and picked off Danny Valencia @ first to get it to the ninth and now retired 41 straight batters. Rajai Davis replaced Melky Cabrera in the Seventh and came up with a single in the seventh and in the ninth he came back up with two on and drove home Maicer Izturis to send the Jays into cloud 9 and when his feet hit the ground he was missing his Jersey and fixing his under shirt. Jays keep rollin' and it is a very happy place right now and when Jose Reyes comes back on Monday he will be more ready then Brett Lewrie was when he came earlier as he has been playing almost a week in the system not only getting 7 at bats but that decision on 25th guy will be interesting as they may choose to ease Reyes back and take him out late or maybe they decide to have a guy like Kawasaki in the clubhouse and let go of either Izturis or Derosa more likely the latter as he is the one sitting on the bench. They could also have R.A. throw a knuckleball in everybody's face and take an arm out of that pen. Things are a happenin' @ (Ted) Rogers Centre and if the last guy is the talk everything is A O K Tom Mehegan

Adam Lind sweeps away the Rockies

Adam Lind a .340 hitter is one of the quietest .340 as fans were sitting on their hands every time he stepped to the plate but really Jose Bautista is the only batter getting a reaction for the Jays. Adam Lind finished off the ballgame as Jerry would say with one out in the bottom of the first as stepped up after Bautista reached base on a throwing error by third baseman Nolan Arenado and then Edwin Encarnacion grounded a ball into right field and then finished off Juan Nicasio with a three-run homer and the Jays eased to a 5-2 victory. Adam could of had a monster game and blow up the Rockies real good in the seventh with a run and one on and two out with Edwin stepping up and Rob Scahill on the mound and the Rockies had a meeting on the mound and he then throw a ball directly at him and hit him to the ground which brought Adam back to the plate and with Josh Outman on the mound a rocked a ball to right field and felt like another three-run bomb but Michael Cuddyer made the catch to end the inning. Mark Buehrle was rocked around in the first two inning and did not break as he gave up 5 hits and one run and left 4 on base and the Jays had a 3-1 after two rolled the third and fourth leaving a runner on each inning and in the fifth inning he allowed a homer to Carlos Gonzalez who now has 21 homers on the season. Buehrle pitched 5 innings and he gave up 2 runs on 8 hits with 2 walks and left 8 batters on the bases and it was not the greatest outing but now is a 4-4 record on the season with a 4.60 ERA but he held it together. The pitchers that bridge the gap between Buehrle and closer Casey Janssen throw the heat as they k'd 7 of the 10 batters they faced as Wagner k'd 2 and Brett Cecil throw nine pitches and all were strikes and k'd 2 and then Steve Delabar k'd three batters after the first. Casey Janssen came in and blow apart the first two batters and then got tight and gave up a hit and finally got the third out. Also when Wagner came in for Buehrle was a risk to my health as one foul ball flew over my head on my left and then a ball went second level on my right but the 27 plus were more alive than the last time I saw Buehrle pitch live. Juan Nicasio for the Rockies gave up 4 runs (2 earn runs) on 4 hits with given up on two errors Tom Mehegan

Dustin McGowan road back to Major League was as long as Jays win in 18 innings

Dustin McGowan came in the tenth inning of a 3-3 and faced four batters and retired only one and loaded bases in his first major league appearance since September 28TH, 2011 and in the last 32 month he has been injured with a right shoulder and an injured foot. He did very well today on the mound after he walked his leadoff hitter Lance Berkman he got a double play ball off the bat of Adrian Beltre to Mark DeRozan but he dropped the ball twice and everybody was safe and then hit Nelson Cruz to load the bases and then faced Jeff Baker the same guy who broke up Dustin McGowan's no-hitter on July 24,2007 as a Jay against the Rockies during his best season in the majors and McGowan struck him out and then was lifted for Juan Perez who got an inning ending double play off the bat of Leonys Martin. The game lasted 18 innings and in the 18 inning with the Rangers Ross Wolf who pitched the last 7inning until he tried to pick off attempt of Emilio Bonifacio at second base and he throw it away and he ended up at third and Rajai Davis drove him home with a single to win the game. The Jays were silent in the game as they had 15 hits in 17.2 inning game and they got a huge two-run triple by Colby Rasmus in the third inning and came home on a throwing error on Jurickson Profar as he tried to get Rasmus at third and throw it into the crowd and the Jays held onto that 3-0 lead til the seventh inning as Mark Buehrle gave up only two hits going into the inning and then gave up a solo shot to Jeff Baker and a double to Craig Gentry and finished seven strong of four hit ball. In the ninth inning Casey Janssen came in try to cement down his 13 save of the season and first time this season he failed as he gave up an one out single to Leonys Martin and most importantly his second walk of the season to David Murphy as he came around and tied up the game as he scored on a sac fly by Elvis Andrus after A. J. Pierzynski singled home by Leonys Martin. The Crowd of over 44 thousand was there to see Yu Darvish who pitched 7 innings and gave up hits to only two batters as he gave up two hits to Colby Rasmus and 3 of the 4 hits that Adam Lind had was against Darvish who gave up 3 runs on those 5 hits. Adam Lind is now hitting .342 and is hitting .500 (13 of 26) in 6 June games and 27 of 56 in his last 14 games Jays should ask for next Saturday as they play 17 innings last week and 18 today Tpm Mehegan

Ricky Romero is off the 40-man roster and will be able to get his stuff in order

Ricky Romero has all the time in the world to get his head fixed and be able to take baby steps to get his career back on track as he is now off the 40-man roster as he cleared waivers and was not claimed by one of the other 29 major league teams. So he can stop pressing so hard to get out of Buffalo and just head back to LA and maybe find a sports therapist that can help find the meaning for his problems like breaking up with miss USA a couple of years ago or trying to keep his brother from hitting Jays female staff members or whatever else is on his mind. Also he can forget about baseball until he is in a better head space as he will not be anywhere near the majors until he is better as he will not be called for because someone will have to waived to get him back with the team and that is not this season. In the end it is the best thing that the Jays could of done for him because it is a hall pass or a get out of jail free card and he is being given the chance to find himself without a guy looking over his shoulder saying "are u better yet" Tom Mehegan